Innovative Danish design provides new solutions to climate issues

By Mark Venables

Published Friday, September 11, 2009

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) lurking in the near future, innovative designers are finding new ways of battling climate change

With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP15) lurking in the near future, innovative designers are finding new ways of battling climate change. Can a curtain store and save energy? Yes, and it is just one of many new Danish design concepts that will be presented at the international exhibition 'It's a Small World' during the Copenhagen Design Week.

The future has arrived. Imagine a curtain that not only blocks out the sunlight but also functions as a solar cell for saving and storing energy. By using Denmark's position as a leading producer of economic solar cells, the Danish designer Astrid Krogh and her pioneering team of scientists and architects have combined sustainability with aesthetic functionality in a new curtain solution called Suntiles. The curtain is designed for office buildings and offers a new approach in the global struggle to reduce energy consumption.

From August 28th, Suntiles and a wide range of innovative design solutions will be exhibited at the Danish Design Center in Copenhagen - the host city of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference 2009 (COP15). 'It's a Small World' is part of the first Copenhagen Design Week that explores the possibilities and potential in sustainable design. The exhibition will travel internationally throughout 2010 and 2011.

Individual demands and global responsibility

'It's a Small World' examines the role of design as a problem-solver in a world filled with surplus production and an endless supply of products. Global challenges such as sustainability and the growing demand for individual, non-standardised solutions make both specialisation and flexibility key concerns at every stage of the design process.

Denmark has a long-standing tradition as a leading design nation. The exhibition, 'It's a Small World', opens in Copenhagen and will present the epitome of Danish design. This showcase of innovative, new Danish design will give prominence to Denmark as a society with a creative and politically conscious design environment.